Thesis book-coverDigital Personae and Profiles in Law
Protecting Individuals’ Rights in Online Contexts

For the thesis of Arnold Roosendaal Tobias Groenland was asked to create a cover which reflects the content. The story was visualised by photographing droplets with a refracted portrait of an individual. The droplets act as fracturing, isolating, and limiting bubbles for the persona in the background. This concept visualized in a single image the main themes of the whole thesis.

Digital Awareness Campaign

The Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer Der Staten Generaal) asked Tobias to pitch his ideas on the internal security of the building. Although we often think about physical security, the digital world can also be a threat we are not aware of. With the campaign called “Zeef”, the digital threat is made visible through the fears humans instinctively have for insects and “bugs”. By harnessing our innate phobias of pests, critters, infestations, and infections, the images highlight the necessity to protect oneself in the digitally connected world. Of course the digital world is an abstract place, but with child-like visualization it comes alive. In every image a question is asked to make the spectator curious. The campaign consists of a total of six images which display “bugs” in the system. The “bugs” can do harm to the organization on a digital level, which essentially can do more damage than a physical threat.

Built from computer parts and everyday used office materials like computer mice, routers, and Internet cables, these images tell this story. The campaign was launched in conjunction with a publication in the magazine “Kamerbode” for which the leading image “Spider / Spin” was featured on the cover. The feature article explained the meaning of the work and how it was created. Furthermore, Tweede Kamer utilized the images in a private network campaign to provide educational background information, and to promote additional security measurements. Residents of the building and the public taking tours around The Dutch House of Representatives could find these images displayed in hallways, near the cafeteria, in open social spaces, and in elevators. After a period of several months of public display, the House of Representatives included the images in their permanent archive.

With this campaign Tobias hopes people will become aware of the fact that the digital world is here to stay, and we rely on it. Like the members of The Dutch House of Representatives, we should all be aware of the possibilities and risks this new world offers. A system is as safe as its own users.

Mysterious – The unseen world of energy

With this series Tobias Groenland experimented with light and scenery to visualise an unknown and unseen world of energy. The images are shot during a vacation break in the north of Holland, where living “off the grid” is still possible.

Without electricity, water, and other services like internet, which we take for granted every day, our lives would become strained and austere. But as soon as you switch of your mobile phone old magic can start to happen. Welcome to the world of mysterious unknown energies.

This series of images can be considered as a study for the work “The Age of Connectivity” in which Tobias Groenland visualised the abstract, unseen, and unknown world of digitalisation through plants and flowers.

Hello world,

I am Tobias Groenland. Freelance Photographer based in Amsterdam. I’m focused onnew technology, digitalisation, and innovation.My style in photography is autonomous and corporate. I create my own projects, or work to visualise your stories.

Tobias Groenland on the beach at Gretek Bali 2016

My work consists of abstract and industrial photography, and my main subjects revolve around themes such as digital safety, security, and awareness. Through these images I’m trying to pose questions about our blind reliance on technology.

The inspiration for my work comes from a variety of media including Twitter, Newspapers, Blogs,Facebook, E-books on technology, and scifi movies. I am attempting to visualise the unseen and unknown side of this digital world, which so fundamentally influences the way we life.

To make the abstract tangible, I would like to make the viewer aware of the ways digital systems are ruling our lives and of the looming dangers of the dominance of technology. In my photography, I use unexpected objects to visualize this hidden world of codes. With my images, I aim to symbolize how our systems become more like humans while humans tend to become more like machines.

My work has been obtained by both private collectors and public institutions like The Dutch House of Representatives(Tweede Kamer) in The Hague. My “Digital Awareness Campaign”was not only commissioned by the Tweede Kamer, but was selected to be included in their archives preserving fine-art prints for future generations.

Furthermore, my images have been used for book covers, websites, brochures, and campaigns.

My fascination for these topics, however, goes back even further to my studies at the Graphic School of Artsin Rotterdam, where I specialised in design & technology.

For my graduation there, my team-mates and I, created a video-based platform that instructed people on building their own websites. Completing this in 2006, we were one of the first to use online platforms to provide home-made, or do-it-yourself educational content signalling the now worldwide trend.

This combination of creative multimedia studies and photography laid the foundation for my unique style of photography, as well as for specificity of my topics. My independent and corporate photography are best visible in my portfolio.